Please have patience while we update and expand aspects of our website. Thank you.

Welcome to the homepage of Karuṇā Tendai Dharma Center / Jiunzan Tendaiji and the Tendai Buddhist Institute, (est. 1997). Karuṇā Tendai Dharma Center is a branch temple of Enryakuji, Mt. Hiei, Japan (the administrative center of the Tendai School and the birthplace of Japanese Buddhism), and an official North American representative of the Tendai School of Japanese Buddhism. We are also the first fully authorized Tendai Buddhist training center for the education of priests and the establishment new Tendai Buddhist Temples and Dharma Centers in North America and beyond.

As Compassion (karuṇā) is a central virtue of the Mahayana Buddhist path, the name for our village temple in East Chatham, NY is “Karuṇā Tendai Dharma Center.” As an branch temple of the Tendai Buddhist lineage, we also have an official Japanese name, registered with Enryakuji Temple on Mt. Hiei, which was given to us by Rev. Shōshin Ichishima: “Jiunzan Tendaiji.” This name means “Compassionate Cloud Tendai Temple,” and reflects the natural surroundings of the Berkshires. The name Tendai Buddhist Institute refers to the educational wing of our organization, which oversees the training and education of priests and the establishment of new Sanghas.

Buddhist meditation services are held on Wednesday evenings, and are free and open to the public. You do not have to be a “Buddhist” to join our service. All are welcome. There is no fee and reservations are not required.

06:00PM, we gather in the main house for a Dharma talk and discussion.
Schedule of topics may be found in our newsletter, The Shingi: Newsletter of the Tendai Buddhist Institute.
07:00PM, meditation service in the Hondo (Main Hall).
08:00PM, potluck dinner in the main house.

Other Regularly Scheduled Events

Sutra Study classes are held on the first Saturday of every month.

Dharma School and Family Service is held once a month.

Special services such as weddings, memorial services, baby blessing ceremonies, refuge taking ceremony, retreats, and annual events and holidays are held throughout the year.

Please contact us if you would like more information.

January Wednesday Meditations and Discussions

31/1 O-Shōgatsu (New Year’s) Service – Gather from about 10:30 PM, the Meditation Service in the Hondo begins at about 11:15 PM. Following the service, we assemble for a New Year’s celebration in the Kuri. Please bring finger foods, appetizers, and drinks that you would like to share. We will have sake and non-alcoholic sparkling beverage, as well as soft drinks. The emphasis on the evening is bringing in the New Year with equanimity and celebrating with sangha, friends and family. All are welcome.

9 What is Buddhism – We will examine contemporary conceptions and misconceptions about the Buddha- dharma. This should be a good primer, a way to dust off our prejudices, and an invitation to revise our ideas about Buddhist history, culture and society. I will use Faure’s Unmasking Buddhism as a starting point.

16 A Survey of the Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sutra, (Lotus Sutra) – Why is this sutra important in the development to Mahayana Buddhism? We will examine a chapter of influential Buddhist work once a month for the foreseeable future.

23 Tendai-shu Anniversary Observance – What makes Tendai distinct? – Perhaps distinct is not the correct term because Tendai is seminal to many other forms of East Asian Buddhism. We will examine essential elements of Tendai Buddhism near its anniversary on the 26th of January.

30 Awakening is Not a Miracle – What is awakening, is it possible for anyone, when will it occur, what’s the difference between awakening and Enlightenment? These and other issues revolving around a basic Buddhist concept will be addressed.

Other Events in January:

5 Sutra Class and Morning Service, 8:30 – 10:30 AM – The Maha Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra (Heart Sutra) is the most often chanted, cited and best known sutra in the Mahayana canon. We will read and discuss two different translations and commentaries (Mu Soeng’s and Red Pine’s) as a set throughout the classes.

5 11 AM, please join the Dharma School of the Tendai Buddhist Institute for a family day celebration. The first temple visit of the year is understood to be an auspicious occasion. Family service and meditation will be followed by a potluck lunch. Feel free to bring friends, family, and little ones. Happy New Year!” .

20 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance: 2:00 PM (Sunday) at St. James Church, Chatham, NY. The celebration will include music and readings from Dr. King’s speeches and writings.The keynote speaker will be Rabbi Israel “Si” Dresner, who personally knew and marched with Dr. King, visited with him when Dr. King and others were jailed, and himself was jailed during the protests against segregation. There is no charge for admission and all are welcome to join the celebration of Dr. King’s life and contribution to our country.

NOTES:

Food Pantry at Jiunzan Tendai-ji – Gratitude is best shown by extending to others the thoughtfulness we have received. Please bring non-perishable food items to the Tendai Buddhist Institute on Wednesday’s. We contribute these items to the Chatham Silent Food Pantry.

Website Guide

For more information about our temple, lineage, and recommended reading list, please see our About Us page.

For more information about Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and the other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Mahayana Buddhist Tradition, see our Buddha Page.

For more information about the teachings and practices of Buddhism, see our Dharma Page.

For more information on temple life, and to see if there is a temple near you, see our Sangha Page.

To learn more about the priests and trainees affiliated with the Tendai Buddhist Institute, please see our Tendai Buddhist Institute Page.

Jushoku’s Thoughts

Welcome to the New Year 2019! This is the Year of the Earth Boar or Pig. In East Asian cultures, pigs are the symbol of wealth. Thus, it is a year for material advantage. At the same time 2019 is going to be full of joy, a year of friendships. It is an auspicious year because the Pig attracts success in all the spheres of life. In terms of yin and yang, the Boar is yin.

As we have a Yin Earth year in 2019, we can expect mixed energies although there should be good news on the horizon with world events and hopefully a more calming influence with huge leaps forward in relationships worldwide. This year should be better than the last in material ways. Two-thousand-eighteen has been a stepping stone for 2019. Sounds great. It would be nice if such a prediction will be fulfilled.

Speaking for myself I have experienced a socio-cultural backlash combined with a deep introspection in the last year. It was 50 years ago (1968) that I experienced a similar year, that was during the American aggression in Viet Nam. Today partisan politics have dominated our national discourse. Occurring at the same time we see the rise of reactionary politics around the world. Posturing politicians and media outlets that feed the beast give us the impression that every tweet and impulsive utterance is of utmost importance. This is not to say that the consequences of these political processes are not important, it may very well determine the future of the American experiment in democracy, as well as liberal democracies in Europe, South America, and Asia.

Human reasoning faculties are superb at certain skills but notoriously bad at risk assessment. Add to that ideologies that are more concerned with perpetuating political power than what is most beneficial for the people writ large and we have a toxic mix.

That said, a major determinate of the wellbeing of all sentient beings on our mother the earth has largely been relegated to an obscure corner of reportage - climate change (aka, global warming). The environmental crises that we are currently experiencing has become a political question rather than scientific certainty. It is an issue used primarily for political gain.

That is not to say that race, gender, criminal justice, economic inequality, religious bigotry, immigration, and other vital issues are of less importance. These other problems are all highly impacted by environmental degradation. It is the marginalized, disenfranchised, and discriminated that pay a disproportionate price for societies inattention to the environment. We do not ignore our social problems, we continue to resist the forces that block progress toward equality and justice. We do so while elevating the environmental predicaments to a priority in our intentions and actions.

There are no direct, specific, references to the environment in the Buddhist canon. In the Abrahamic traditions humans have dominion over all the creatures of the field and the earth itself. Buddhism by contrast asserts that humans are a part of the earth, one of all the many species that inhabit our environment. Every creature, tree, rock, cloud, mountain, sea, all that we perceive, is a part of the universe itself. When we ignore the wellbeing of the earth, we ignore our own wellbeing.

When we follow the first of the Four Bodhisattva Vows to 'liberate all sentient beings' [from dukkha (suffering and discontentedness)] let us look beyond our species as the recipients of dukkha. Let us include the discrimination, inequality, injustice toward our brothers and sisters, but, let us not overlook all sentient beings - the rivers, the hills, the animals of the fields, the air we breathe. In this new year strive for an awakening that is greater than our own individual insight into the nature of reality.

Using Upaya (skill in means) guided by Prajna (wisdom) let our Karuna (compassion) address our loved ones, our acquaintances, those with whom we disagree, to transform our actions from selfness, greed and willful ignorance to healing the earth, of which we are part. Let us fulfill the prophesy of the Year of the Earth Boar that it be full of joy, a year of friendships, an auspicious year with a calming influence and huge leaps forward in relationships worldwide. Make this a joyous commitment for all sentient beings in the New Year. Have an equanimous New Year.